RUN GOD’S RACE

Hebrews 12:1-2
Anxiety Source: The rat race of life
Solution: Run God’s race

Arnie once had a rat named Stan. It was in middle school, which seems ages ago. Stan was technically a hamster, and his home was a small plastic box. A tiny exercise wheel was his one source of recreation. Stan would climb onto the wheel and spin it around. He stopped when exhausted. The next day he would start all over again. Poor Stan never got anywhere, but he sure worked hard at it. Arnie sometimes feels like Stan, stuck in the rat race of life. Arnie does his daily work schedule. Then he scurries to the grocery store, to the ballfield for his son, and then back to the store. Arnie keeps the wheel spinning at home with dishes and laundry. It’s an endless cycle with no end in sight. No wonder he’s so exhausted.

Hebrews 12:1-2, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

Arnie realizes this rat race mentality is a source of his anxiety. The solution is to run God’s race, not the rat race. Do you ever feel like Arnie, like you are running the rat race of life? Do you keep the wheel spinning around, with no end in sight? If so, maybe it’s contributing to your anxiety.

This passage in Hebrews reminds us that life is a race. God never intended us to run the rat race of life. We are to run the race of faith instead. It’s a life that pleases God, a life that has eternity in mind, not just surviving the day. It’s a life that builds God’s kingdom, not ours. It’s full of meaning, not emptiness. We cannot avoid responsibilities at work, home, or church. However, the goal is to live each day by faith, trusting God, not running ragged like a weary rat. Get off the wheel. Run God’s race, not the rat race. Fix your eyes on Christ, not cheese!

Think: Am I focused more on the rat race or God’s race? How is this affecting my stress and anxiety? What will it take to run the right race?

Pray: “Lord, it’s so easy to fall into the rat race mentality. Help me run the race of faith instead. Show me what’s holding me back. Keep my focus on Jesus.”

Do: Eliminate something from your schedule contributing to your rat race mentality.

An excerpt from Truths for the Anxious Christian